


It's Been Sweet Love

by megiax



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's Daughter, F/M, Just Roll With It, Lucky the Dog - Freeform, Sketchy soulmate explanations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-21 16:36:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6058449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megiax/pseuds/megiax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint/Darcy fics<br/>Individual warnings on each part</p><p>Title taken from 'Free Bird' by Lynyrd Skynyrd</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "What if that voice inside your head was your soulmate?"

**Author's Note:**

> A soulmate fic, inspired by the title which I saw on tumblr... 
> 
> Some gun shot wounds in this if that makes you twitchy at all

Clint had suspicions about it since the moment he met her. Her voice was oddly familiar, as if he'd heard it before when he knew that was impossible; she was humming that godawful song that had been stuck in his head for a week. When she smiled, his chest did something strange that he didn't like, so he spent most of his time on the range or sparing...Anywhere she wasn't. Then there was the way his jeans grew tighter when she tried to keep cool in summer by wearing shorts and vests, or harmlessly flirted with him over breakfast. Truth is, he'd never looked forward to Steve's rubbery pancakes more. It was how when she was sat next to him, squashed into his side because Thor took up a lot of room, his thoughts were filled with the sensation of her body pressed against his...the dreams he'd woken up from in a cold sweat.

The team would be watching a movie and she would make a comment about stupid people running up the stairs instead of out the door, at the same time that the very same thought popped into his head. They'd both roll their eyes at a sappy scene, scream the same insults at the umpires on game day. It could be a coincidence, they were both known for being sarcastic shits. Or she could be the voice inside in his head. His soulmate.

It wasn't until later that Darcy figured it out. She assumed that the sudden urge to workout was just another healthy phase that had been brought on by living with superheroes, and that it would fade out like her last one. She found herself talking to inanimate objects, wearing more purple and considering the structural integrity of the vent above her bed while she tried to sleep. She'd have dreams of him, his arms wrapped around her body and his mouth on her skin. She'd wake with a start, on the cusp of orgasm, his name on her lips. She'd never denied that she found him attractive - really damn attractive - but this was ridiculous and crushing on an Avenger would leave in her pieces in the end.

It was around the time that Jane's lab was attacked that she figured it out. There he was, flinging arrows around like freaking Legolas and she was keeping Jane in the panic room. Only one of the goons had managed to get past Clint - because one man cannot fight an army - and was heading towards Jane's hard drive. Darcy was out of the panic room before she could think about it, just as Thor and Steve showed up. Just as a bullet grazed her arm. Just as both she and Clint grabbed their biceps with a shouted "fuck!"

Oh. Well, she gets it now.

* * *

Nobody knows where soulmates come from. Many people believe that it's all a hoax, some urban legend. A lot of people never find their soulmate, because it really is a proximity thing. Say you drove from New York to Vegas. You could hit Ohio and be bombarded with all these thoughts and feelings that weren't yours...You've been allergic to peanuts your entire life, but you're driving through a small town in Ohio and you're craving Reeses. As soon as you're out of Dodge, the craving, the thoughts and the feelings just leave. You never want Reeses again and your soulmate never has the urge to blow all their money in Caesars Palace.

It was like a dollar store walkie-talkie. The closer you were, the stronger, louder it all was. But that was it. Just thoughts, just noise. There were urges that were shared...If one person hadn't eaten in three days then the other would feel hungry too, but it was still all mental. The second person couldn't actually die from starvation like the first could.

Some lucky ones end up in love with their soulmate. Some stay friends...some hate each other. There are people who travel the world, hoping to find even an inkling of someone else inside their head. The Department for Soulmate Study (DSS, because didn't the world need another alphabet agency?) was set up back in the seventies, when people were all about free love and whatever. They can't really do anything to help you find your soulmate, because that would mean making everyone on the planet stand still while they walked someone around. They run tests on pairs who have found each other, singles who haven't. They discovered that not all pairs were romantic, that platonic soulmates were real and that was okay. They try to understand how and why this happens, and document anything new.

Darcy was pretty sure she'd be having a call from them some time soon.

* * *

She'd passed out for a little...both from the shock of realising that Clint was her soulmate and hitting her head as she dropped to the floor to avoid being shot again. Darcy had woken up in Medical with Jane in her room.

The doctor Tony had sent for told Darcy that she had a concussion and should be monitored for the next day or so. She'd also been grazed by a bullet, which is what she and Clint felt before she ducked for cover. Luckily for Darcy, Justin Hammer hires goons that can't shoot for shit, so all she had for that was some ointment, a bandage and a bottle of wicked pain killers. Oh, and she'd have a pretty neat scar too.

Her shirt sleeve was bloody and torn, so Jane had brought a baggy sweater for her. She still wasn't back from the coffee store, but the doctor said that Darcy could leave as soon as someone was there to make sure she didn't pass out again. She sat fiddling with a loose thread on her jeans while she waited.

"Oh, um, I can come back-" Clint was in the doorway, stepping backwards with an apology. Darcy grabbed for the sweater and pulled it over her vest, motioning for him to come in.

"No it's fine, come in."

"I've spoke to the DSS" he said, straight to the point and avoiding her eye line.

"So what's the verdict?" She asked, shifting and tried to hide her wince. The way his eyes narrows on her arm and his fists clenched told her she hadn't been as subtle as she would have liked to be. She'd been shot, give her a break!

"The experts are...baffled" he smiled sheepishly and scrubbed his head with his palm. "They have no idea why I was able to feel it when you were hit."

"Isn't that wonderful" Darcy grumbled under her breath. "So what now?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow." He shrugged, as if to say 'no big deal'. It most certainly was a big deal. A very big deal.

"You can't leave now!" Darcy protested. He held up a hand and she stopped whatever argument was about to come flying out of her mouth. It wasn't so much the hand but the pained look on his face that shut her up.

"They said that whatever has happened with us, there's only been a few cases of it before...people who have grown up together, and have no idea that they're...that they're soulmates" his voice broke over the word, as if he couldn't quite believe it. To be honest, neither could Darcy. "The DSS said that it's likely that it happened because we hadn't acknowledged the bond after months of living in the same building."

"So the universe got tired of waiting and gave us a kick. Why does that mean you have to leave?" She really didn't like how...ruined he looked over this, or how quiet and broken her voice sounded. She had to focus on her voice because she couldn't see her own face, but she was fairly positive that she wore a similar look to his.

"I get beat up practically every day" he snapped, shocking Darcy into a stiff silence. "If this happened because we were close and not doing anything about it, I can't...I can't risk that you'll be able to feel everything that happens to me. Saving the world? You get hit pretty badly. I can't count the number of times that I've been shot, stabbed or sent flying by an explosion. Darcy, I jump off buildings! And what about when I'm not fighting? When I'm sparring and Natasha winds me? Or if I nick myself cleaning arrows? You didn't sign up for this, I'm not going to let myself hurt you because of a platonic soul bond. If I leave, if I'm far away, we'll stop feeling it."

"Platonic?" She whimpered. He made a very strong case; his job was risky and she didn't want either of them to get hurt because of the other but...Platonic? She hadn't thought that they were platonic.

"Yeah" he sighed. "The people who were able to feel each other before, it didn't stop for them. They were platonic and they spent their entire lives being able to feel each and every touch, hit and caress the other got. It got too much for them, so they moved away from each other. There hasn't been a recorded pairing like this who were romantic, did you know that? Well, I guess you didn't." His head hung low, eyes downcast.

"And you think that we're platonic? You're not...interested?"

"Well, you're not, so whether I am doesn't really matter" he cocked a smile, one of his easy going ones that never failed to make her smile back. Until now, because the grin he sent her was forced and not quite right.

She stood from the bed and walked over to him. Standing in front of him, she raised her uninjured arm and pressed her fingers on her wound. She winced and gasped with the pain and Clint shot up from his seat to stand in front of her. There was barely an inch between their bodies. It was a very long shot, but she was probably high on painkillers and bordering on desperate. She had a hunch and she was going with it.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He roared and yanked her hand away, inspecting the bandage.

"Did you feel that?" Darcy asked, the lingering pain making her words weak and her voice breathy.

He looked her in the eyes, his calculating gaze slowly morphing into something different that Darcy couldn't name as he figured out what she was showing him. He hadn't felt it...Whatever it was between them had cut out. They'd never be certain, but based on the other pairs and themselves, she figured that romantic soulmates stopped feeling everything once they acknowledged the bond. Clint came to the same conclusion.

He kissed her then, starting slow but not staying that way. It was hot and passionate and downright sinful until Jane cleared her throat from the doorway.

"So you'll stick around?" Darcy asked, doe eyes boring into his, daring him to say no.

"Until you ask me to leave" he promised. Now wasn't the right time, but one day she'd make sure to tell him that she'd never ask him to leave.

"Does this mean that we're the first?" She laughed and glanced at the doorway, noticing Jane's retreating figure and the coffee she'd left behind.

"Darlin', I think we've made history."


	2. Crushiest of the Crushes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy has a crush, Natasha is sick of all the pining. 
> 
> Rated T for minimal potty mouth 
> 
> Alludes to Darcy-is-Tony's-Daughter 
> 
> Very, very cheesy

Admitting to having a crush is always hard. Admitting it to someone who you know already knows about your crush is worse. It's worse because you know that they only want to hear you say it for their own sick, perverted pleasure.

"But Tasha..." Darcy whined and flopped her head back on to her pillows. She wished that there was a way to smother herself with a pillow at the same time as downing an entire case of red wine.

"Just say the words and I'll leave you alone" Natasha said as she laid next to Darcy, propping her head up with one arm to stare at Darcy.

"No you won't" Darcy mumbled from under the pillow. "You're a sadist."

Natasha simply 'hmed' in agreement.

The silence was starting to grow too much for Darcy, and she knew that the world's scariest redhead (Pepper was a very close second) was staring at her, making her even more uncomfortable.

"It's not like your Spidey senses haven't worked it out already!"

"Darcy, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not Spiderman? And I like confirmation. No matter what I think I've seen, I need you to tell me I'm right" She was smirking, of course.

"Okay, okay!" Darcy gave in, partly because she knew Natasha could keep this up for days, and partly because it would be nice being able to talk about it.

"So?" Natasha prompted, waiting on the three words to come out of Darcy's mouth.

"Ilikebarton" Darcy said with her face still hidden under the pillow. It was muffled by the material, and she'd said it so fast that it was just a jumble of sounds. When Natasha ripped away to pillow, she was sure that her face was red. Both from the heat of it, and the embarrassment of admitting what she did.

"Didn't quite hear that, Darcy, you'll have to speak up."

"I like Barton, okay? Can you let me wallow now?" Darcy snapped and grabbed the pillow back.

"I'm leaving, but in about two hours Tony's going to drag you upstairs for movie night, so you can't wallow for too long" Darcy didn't like the amount of amusement that was in Natasha's voice. She was definitely enjoying this too much.

* * *

 

Sure enough, two hours later, there was a knock on Darcy's door.

"Go away!" She shouted and threw a pillow in the general direction of it when she heard it open.

"Come on, kid, please" Tony whined like a child, but it made her smile a little. "Who else is going to rant over movie mistakes with me?" He was actually pouting.

"Don't wanna" Now she was pouting.

"Natasha was that hard on you, huh?"

"She's evil, Tony, evil!" Darcy seethed, proud of how much she sounded like Gollum.

"Did I ever tell you about the time she stabbed me in the neck?"

"No, but she did" Darcy laughed and rolled off her bed, landing on the floor with a slight thud. She looked up at the man standing in front of her, and did a small jazz hands maneuver that was meant to mean 'tah dah!'

"You're crazy, kid" he said and pulled her up onto her feet.

"Definitely a gene I got from my dad" she winked at him.

"You think so?"

"I know so, old man!" Her feet were slipped into a pair of bunny slippers and she walked out of her room, Tony close on her heels, grumbling to himself about young people.

"See if I share my popcorn with you."

* * *

There were certain restrictions on movie night depending on who was present. Darcy had a list printed out. It was all very professional and had even been signed by Fury as official protocol.

**If Tony Stark is present, the following movies are restricted:**

-Anything that is heavily based on science. _This rule was put in place after watching Interstellar. Tony Stark attempted to make his own 'TAARS', which made the other robots jealous. It also blew some things up._

-The Lord of the Rings Trilogy/The Hobbit Trilogy. _(Can be watched with Tony if Clint Barton isn't in the building.)_ -Terminator. _Let's not go there again._

**If Thor Odinson is present, the following are restricted:**

-Anything mythological, including Percy Jackson and the TV show Vikings.

-Lion King. _Scar makes him twitch._

-Anything which has the death of a pet. _Especially dogs. Avoid dog death at all costs. I Am Legend was a disaster._

**If Steve Rogers is present the following movies are restricted:**

-Anne Frank and Schindlers List. **_Don't even go there._ **

-Other films and shows set during WW2.

-Anything Captain America

**If James Barnes is present the following movies are restricted:**

-Anne Frank and Schindlers List. **_Again, don't even go there. _**

-Other films and shows set during WW2. Also the Cold War.

-Anything Captain America.

-Jason Bourne movies. _Government assassin with extreme memory loss having an identity crisis? ~~Tony, what were you thinking showing that to him?!~~_

**If Bruce Banner is present, the following are restricted:**

-Also anything heavy scientific. _Unlike Tony, he won't try and make his own, but he will pout about inaccuracies._

**If Natasha Romanoff is present, the following are restricted:**

-James Bond and Mission Impossible. _No one wants to hear about scientific inaccuracies from Bruce, they especially don't want to hear espionage inaccuracies from Natasha._

-Other spy movies. Especially the ones relating to the Cold War.

-Anastasia.

**If Clint Barton is present, the following are restricted:**

-Any and all versions of Robin Hood.

-The Hunger Games.

-Brave.

-Narnia.

_-Just avoid archers, okay?_

-Probably best to avoid birds as well.

**If Wanda Maximoff is present, the following are restricted:**

-The Incredibles. _Just don't, okay?_

If Sam Wilson is present, the following are restricted:

\- Afghanistan/Iraq based films.

\- Pearl Harbor. _(And other things where best friends die. Seeing a grown man cry isn't fun.)_

_ Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster, Pepper Potts and James Rhodes hold the right to veto any movie choices. Purely on the basis that they remain the sanest people in the tower.  _

_Other restrictions and people may be added at a later date. _

When everyone was around, it didn't leave them with much. They'd exhausted chick flicks, and most people didn't enjoy those much anyway. Comedies and horrors tended to offend at least one person. Action films were touchy, because while no one voiced anything out loud, you could tell that they were internally complaining about the correct way to use a gun, or why don't they just shoot the Goddamn tires? Not only did people bitch that the stunts pulled off in the Fast and Furious films were very impossible, explosions made them all twitchy. Especially after missions.

So that only left them with one option when the whole gang was around (and it wasn't even the whole selection from that category, because these were a touchy bunch and sometimes even the big D himself could make a superhero twitch.)

Disney.

"If I have to watch Amy Adams sing to squirrels one more time..." Sam complained from the sofa, earning a soft punch from Steve.

"I liked Enchanted!"

"Have we done Mighty Ducks yet?" Jane held up the disk from her seat on the floor.

"No, can't say that we have, boss lady" Darcy walked into the room carrying bowls of popcorn, with Pepper behind her holding large bottles of soda.

"Mighty Ducks sounds perfect, actually" Tony mused from his arm chair. Yes, his armchair. If you sit in that chair, you might find everything in your apartment glued to the ceiling. It had happened, it would happen again.

"Yes! There's nothing Tony can invent, and the only things you can all moan about is sports!" Darcy exclaimed, which earned her a pained gasp from Tony.

After the first movie (and minimal bitching), most people filtered out for bed. Darcy was planning on leaving as well, but once Thor was gone, and the risk of Asgardian tears was minimized Tony put Up in. You don't leave when Up is on.

Only, she was becoming more and more uncomfortable.

Clint had been the last to stumble into the living room before Mighty Ducks started. Darcy thought it that it definitely wasn't a coincidence that the only remaining seat was next to her. And it wasn't very big either, meaning that she'd either be squashed against Thor or Clint. Thor was in a furious face battle with Jane, and she really didn't want to interrupt that. She saw Natasha's smirk from across the room as she was forced to settle against Clint. She saw the bigger smirk that Natasha wore when Clint put his arm around Darcy about half way through the film, and she ended up snuggled into his side.

There was only Tony, Pepper, Natasha, Darcy and Clint left watching by the time Doug the talking dog appeared. Darcy saw the glint in Tony's eyes before he even spoke.

"Darcy, do you think -" he started, but was interrupted by Pepper.

"Tony, if you're going to invent something to translate dogs, then this is something we're not going to stop. Just try not to singe your eyebrows again, it didn't suit you." With Pepper's blessing and a nod of approval from Darcy, he stood and walked towards his lab.

"And don't test it on Lucky!" Clint called to Tony's retreating form. Pepper wasn't far behind him.

"Goodnight, Lyubov' Ptitsy" Natasha said as she went to bed, squeezing Darcy's shoulder as she walked past.

"Any chance you speak Russian?" Darcy asked once she was sure that Natasha was in the elevator.

"No" Clint laughed, "Natasha refused to teach me because she won't be able to have secret conversations or insult me."

"Yeah, Barnes won't teach me either" Darcy pouted.

"I've picked up that идиот means 'idiot'. I get called that a lot."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He turned to face her with a small smile. Up still played on the screen but he'd long since lost interest in watching anything. He'd been entirely too focused on the brunette pressed into his side, trying to keep his face neutral, and discreetly flipping off Natasha.

"Darce?" He nudged her with his leg. She was falling asleep against him, and while he found that absolutely incredible, she should probably be in her own bed.

"Hhn?"

"Come on, bedtime" he stood from the sofa and pulled her up as her arms went around his shoulders. He didn't miss how she leant closer than was necessary when she was stood, or the way her thumbs drew small circles on his neck like they'd been doing to his arm all night.

They were practically breathing each other in when she moved, not in the direction that either of them wanted, and started walking towards the elevator.

What was it that Natasha had called him? Uдиот. Idiot.

He got in the elevator with her, because why the hell not, Clint? Just torture yourself some more.

Darcy's room was on the same floor as his and Natasha's. He knew that if she wanted, she could have had an entire storey (maybe even two) for an apartment, but she'd chosen to move into one of the empty rooms on the residential floors with everyone else. Well, he says room. It was more of a small apartment, with a living room and kitchen. He knew that Darcy's was slightly bigger than all the others because Tony loves spoiling her.

They got out of the elevator and he ended up stood outside her door as she unlocked it.

"You really didn't have to walk me to my room, you know?" She smiled and leant in the doorframe.

"Making sure you didn't pass out from exhaustion on your way down" he shrugged with the hint of a smirk on his face.

"Well, here I am" she gestured around with her arm, "haven't passed out yet. Goodnight, Clint."

"Night, Darce."

Her door closed, but he couldn't find it in himself to walk to his own bed. So he didn't. He leant against the opposite wall, sighing for a few moments. When he finally did move to leave, he heard a loud scream from Darcy's room.

It didn't take him a second to turn around and run towards Darcy's door. It was locked, which on another day would be a good thing. She'd only screamed once. It was either a really good thing or a really bad thing. Not wanting to take that risk, he didn't hesitate to kick her door open. Tony could give him hell about repairs later.

"Darcy!" He shouted as he entered her apartment. Her bedroom door was to the right, and closed. Her living room was empty, and so was her kitchen. He turned towards her bedroom door when it opened and something big and yellow came running out towards him.

"Lucky?"

"Yes, Clint! Lucky! How did your dog get into my bed? I laid down and he licked me! I was terrified! Wait, what are you doing here?" She shouted as she followed the dog out of her bedroom in...Oh my god, a lacy Camisole and boy shorts.

Her make-up was washed off, her glasses replaced her contacts and her hair was in a messy ponytail. He didn't care. Right then was the most beautiful he'd ever seen her.

"I, um, heard you scream" he rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the ceiling, because nope, she wasn't wearing a bra. He only had so much self-control and it had been exhausted with her pressed up against through two movies.

"Well, I'm fine, thanks" she grinned sheepishly, "mind, er, taking your dog home? And next time you get a pet, try to teach them not to break in. How did he do that anyway?"

"I think I know" Clint groaned and run his hands over his face. It made sense, too much sense.

"How?"

"Natasha."

"Why would she - oh." Darcy's eyes widened with the realisation and she blushed from her elbows to her hairline. It was cute. "Seems like we're being set up."

"Seems like it" What else could he say? If it were any other girl, he'd have a coy smirk or a witty remark ready. But it was Darcy. She wouldn't fall for any of that.

"Well goodnight, Clint" she wasn't looking at him as walked over and bent down to pet Lucky, "night boy."

She stood up without realising how close she was to him. Or maybe he should have stepped back. Either way, they were as close, if not closer, as they were when they'd stood from the couch.

"Darce?" Clint asked, not liking how thick and course his voice was. It was a lot to keep his eyes on hers, when her lips were right there, slightly parted and no, Darcy don't lick them...Oh God.

"Hhm?"

"How badly do you think Tony would react if I kissed you?"

Her breath hitched and her eyes lifted from the spot on his chest to his eyes, and flicked down to his lips.

"I think you need to worry more how badly I'll react if you don't kiss me."

That was enough. He had their lips moving together in under a second, Darcy walking backwards and pressed against the wall in under two, and her moaning his name in three. Kissing Darcy was everything he thought it would be and more. She was, at risk of sounding like a bad cliché, electric.

"I should probably go" he said between kisses, pulling back only to have her hands fisted in his hair and dragging his lips back to hers.

"Probably" she half-heartedly agreed. With more kisses. This wasn't how he wanted things to go. She deserved better. She deserved to be wined and dined and worshipped. Not a secret make out against her wall in the middle of the night like they were teenagers.

"Let me take you out" Kiss. "Tomorrow, we'll have dinner" Kiss.

"Okay" Kiss.

Pulling away was hard. He leant his forehead against hers and breathed heavily. What was one of the things they teach you at S.H.I.E.L.D? Restraint.

"So, dinner?" Darcy smiled and ran her bottom lip between her teeth.

"I'll pick you up at seven?" She nodded as he stepped away and made for the door, Lucky not far behind him.

It took a little longer for him to get home. There was the kiss before the door was opened, then the one as he stood outside her door, reluctant to leave. When she finally had her door closed, he slid down the wall next to it, smiling like an idiot and stroking Lucky. He should probably thank Natasha. Ex-Soviets liked fruit baskets, right?


	3. Trace

Well, it was safe to say that their initial meeting didn't go too well. It was also classified, but most people had worked out that it included a lot of bourbon, a Stark party and a taser. Besides, wasn't that how all the best stories started?

So, electric meeting aside, it was pretty much clear from day one that they'd end up in one another's beds. In fact, it was so clear that the entire team had won quite a bit of money from Fury.

Clint knew that Darcy was The One long before they slept together. No, it wasn't one of those, Eureka! moments where it suddenly came to him. It was just there one day, he wasn't shocked, and he had to put a hand over his mouth to stop himself from blurring it at her face during a team movie night. He looked at her as she threw popcorn at Steve and thought to himself, God, I love this woman. They'd barely been dating at that point, but it was enough. He loved her.

For Darcy, it took a little longer. For her, it came after they'd slept together. The first night, he'd been attentive and loving and it was a little overwhelming; not at all what she was used to. She was used to men just taking what they wanted, and if she was lucky she'd get a number left on her beside table. Clint wasn't like that, any of the times they spent together.

When she told him that she'd come from a not so loving family and had a not so nice boyfriend during college, he didn't cast her out like everyone else (except a few, like Jane) had done. He held her close and told her about his brother, the circus and his plans for the removal a certain asshole's testicles. For the first time in a relationship, she didn't feel like broken goods. She wasn't scared when, being held to his chest as she cried softly, the word 'love' came to mind.

Neither of them said it.

Clint was scared that it was too soon, at first, and then when they'd been together for a few months, and she told him about her ex, he was scared of frightening her. He didn't want her to feel like the words were a weight that would hold her down.

Even though he'd told her multiple times that she was being silly, Darcy was scared that Clint really wasn't in it for the long run. She loved him, she knew that now, and she knew that on some level he cared about her. She wasn't sure whether telling him would change anything between them, and she didn't want to risk the best thing in her life.

She thought he was asleep, he could tell. Usually after sex they'd cuddle and fall asleep together, but Darcy hadn't gone to sleep yet. When he'd closed his eyes and tried to sleep because he was being shipped to one of the countries ending in '-stan' in the morning, he'd felt a finger on his arm.

At first it was slow circles being drawn on his biceps. Absentminded patterns. Then it was her name. _Darcy. Darcy._ Over and over as if she was trying to claim him as hers. _As if she had to._

Ds morphed into Cs and the As into Ls...Darcy on his arm became Clint on his chest and then something else, something longer that it took a while for him to decipher.

He was good at this; words drawn on skin had become a code for him and Natasha. They'd been held in a very small room, under twenty four observation and needed a way out. She'd traced the letters of a plan on his arm, and well, it had worked. Soon they had multiple escape plans condensed to a letter or two. For example, **Run Like Hell** was simply Z. He'd wanted Vents to be A, because he really liked leaving through air vents, and to him it was always a good thing to start with. Natasha had convinced him to save A for Avengers and have Vents as VC.

So, Darcy's flowing letters that were curled together were a little harder to work out. He got it, eventually. He had to stop himself from tensing and spooking her. He wanted her to do what she was doing forever.

She wrote love on his skin for what felt like hours before sighing and rolling over to go to sleep.

He couldn't just leave her hanging like that, even if she wasn't expecting anything back because she thought he was asleep. He wrapped an arm lazily around her waist and burried his head in his neck. He played it like he was still asleep.

Then he pulled her tight against him and pressed his lips to her ear. She tensed but melted into him almost immediately.

"I love you, too" he said and she tensed again. It was a few moments before she turned around in his arms with watery eyes. Her hands rested on his shoulders and she looked up at him. Suddenly he was afraid that he'd read the situation wrong.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She kissed him then, slow and tentative as if it was their first. It so wasn't their first.

But it was their first knowing that they loved each other, so it was sort of a milestone for Clint.

Their first meeting might not have been perfect by fairy tale standards, but it was perfect for them. Just like this was.


End file.
